Thursday 13 November 2014

New Mum. Don't Buy Her Flowers

I had an experience this year, where I decided that flowers are the worst gift idea ever. Don't get me wrong I USED to love them. Let me tell you what happened in May of this year. Interflora in their infinite wisdom sent me a text asking if I wanted to repeat an order I'd done last year. I was thrilled, as it was my Mum's 60th, I had no idea what to get her, and it was too late to get something in the post for it to arrive in time. Turned out that they didn't deliver on bank holidays, at all. So, I rung them up and explained that (a) they should have seen that the date they were offering to send for WAS a bank holiday and that (b) perhaps if they are going to send those texts they should send them 4-5 days before the event (or more) so people can plan. I got all excited and spent ages choosing the flowers, before I realised it wouldn't be possible.

I then had the great idea that I could send her a delivery from Tesco.com except that they do not deliver to the Republic of Ireland. Anyway, I rung them up, and spoke to their tech team and a really patient really lovely guy suggested that I sign up as a member of the .ie Tesco. I did, and began choosing.

My Mum LOVES cake, LOVES Bacardi and Coke, and lots of other things. As the total totted up I came up with a superb idea to spend 60 pounds for her 60th birthday.

Anyway, to cut a long story short she adored everything I sent her and as she doesn't have t'internet or computer, she's never shopped online.

A lady driver delivered the items and brought them right through to Mum's kitchen. They got chatting and as the Tesco lady could see how giddy with excitement my Mum was she asked her "is it your birthday?" to which my Mum was thrilled to hear answering "yes". The chatty lady said "more and more people are doing this now" which my Mum loved hearing, as she always likes to know what's going on in the world, and not just current affairs if you get what I mean (she's not nosey, she just likes to be aware of trends - likes and dislikes - not fashion but sometimes that too ha ha).

Anyway, my Mum must have sent me 20 texts that day, as part of a long SMS convo we had, she was so grateful and the goodies lasted way way longer than flowers would have done. My Mum got to have a drink on her birthday, and she was over the moon. Several times since then, I have often thought, flowers don't make the best present, so with that all in mind, I was very intrigued to see THIS on Twitter:


Being that my URL is New Mum, and being that I don't think flowers make the best gift, clearly I was intrigued by this tweet and wasn't disappointed when I went to the website:



They do free deliveries on orders over 50 pounds, and this is what they say:

A thoughtful alternative to flowers

Flowers are a go-to present when someone has a baby. In a survey 97% of mums told us that they received flowers after giving birth. The average number of bunches was four, some got more than ten. Ten! In all likelihood, mum will still get flowers from someone, but with Don’t Buy Her Flowers you can be the person that gives her something special.
Don't Buy Her Flowers is a site worth visiting as there's even a blog over there which makes for a really great read. Put the kettle on and read Sisterhood and all that.

I'll let you in on a secret, I didn't like the flowers that the husband bought me just after Aaron arrived, so that's the other thing with flowers, they're very very personal and you don't want to get it wrong, or spend 50-60 pounds on something that may not be fully appreciated, or that might be the 10th bouquet they've received.

I'd have much rathered one of those lovely ornaments, you know the ones:


Willow Tree Figures - Child of My Heart Willow Tree Statue

So what'd your opinion dear reader? I'd really love to know your experience. What gifts did you receive as a new mum?

Back to Don't Buy Her Flowers, if I wasn't breast feeding, after 9 months of not drinking whilst pregnant, this would be my New Mum gift of choice:


Liska xxx

17 comments:

  1. What a fantastic idea....Flowers are nice but they last a week at the most. This site sounds brilliant!

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    1. Have a look. It LOOKS even better than the concept sounds. I spent a clean fortune on flowers for friends when they had babies. I always added a teddy and balloons as the flowers never quite cut it for me xx

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    2. Thank you again! Fab reading what other women think. Almost first week done...phew!

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    3. Keep your spirits up and reach for the stars x

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  2. Thank you - so lovely to get feedback on the site and the idea. V kind of you to share it around! xxx

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    1. Absolute and complete pleasure. I wish you the very best of auspicious success with it x

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  3. I do like flowers but having so many at one time is lovely but such a waste for some (not me personally I have a knack with flowers and love looking after them!) This is a lovely idea for new mums I adore those ornaments too btw wish I had some! Xx

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    1. Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. Good on you with your green fingers. I have one of these ornaments but as they say in Little Britain "I want that one ^^" xxx

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  4. If you have to send something from the flower shop then I'd much rather have a plant that can last for years. Flowers are also a pain to get rid of when they die, the petals and leaves shed, and I have no spare surface space to put them on other than the dining room table or coffee table - both of which restrict conversation by obscuring people's faces. Anything but flowers please.

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    1. I think for all those reasons and more Rachel, she is on to a WINNER of a website. I'm really excited to see where it goes. xx

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  5. I like flowers and was pleased to receive 2 bouquets after having O... But I would have been as happy with flowers from the garden! I often think it's actually nicer to send someone a present when baby reaches a month old... Because in the first few days you get showered in gifts when you can least appreciate them as you are getting used to being a parent... And then suddenly everyone has seen baby and gone back to their everyday lives (and you're on your own as paternity leave has ended!) and it's then that a little "still thinking about you, you're doing a great job!" gift could mean so much more!

    My friends actually created a basket of gifts before I gave birth... It included sweet things like clothes and a blanket but also essentials like Nappy sacks, Milton, cotton buds etc... Things I would maybe need one day and have forgotten to buy... That was so useful!

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    1. It's incredibly lonely when Paternity Leave stops and your maternity cover no longer asks you questions. WOW that is like killer loneliness. We'l have to tell Steph to include a section called "a month on" or something. Love your comment.
      Liska xx

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  6. I only received one lot of flowers after having N, and that was from work (they'd done me a hamper of new baby essentials and got me the baby gym I'd requested from a collection), plus a teddy.

    Flowers aren't something I would give either, but it's definitely hard to think of interesting gifts where they won't have lots of duplicates.

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    1. I know what you mean, I have a few of those books where you record their first year. Thanks for visiting and commenting. This is such an interesting subject x

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  7. Couldn't agree more! I love flowers too, but not as much as I love bread and milk, chocolate and wine, or things that will last! I love what you did for your Mom, I will be using this idea (if you don't mind!) for my brother who has just bought his first new house and is struggling!

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    1. Oh Holly the gratitude you get back is mind blowing. To say my Mum was thrilled doesn't come close. To really get it across in this post I'd need to copy and paste all her exhuberant text messages ha ha!
      Your bro will be thrilled x

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  8. So pleased to something so original highlighted and that you made your mum so happy! I have that ornament at home, bought by a friend when expecting my eldest and I treasure it because it brings back the memories of being the size of a whale when pregnant - which I loved! X

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